The a week or so ago I went to visit Avondale Nursery, which I had heard of yet never visited despite it not being that far from where I live. They were opening their garden for NGS and this seemed the perfect excuse (like I need an excuse!) to go.
There are a limited number of gardens that I walk into and say wow. Currently this number can be counted on the fingers of one hand. This is still the case but with the addition now of the Library Garden at Avondale. 
It is not huge, but it is packed full of the most wonderful plants.
The colours and shapes are skillfully put together and the garden acts as a living catalog for the nursery (there is also a paper catalog but when you see the plant growing in context that has more power than paper can ever give you).The garden had to be studied systematically, going around the outer paths, then the inner ones, then the diagonals. I did not want to accidentally miss a path.
Notes were made of 'must buy' plants and then into the nursery I went. I bought plants, not many really and not as many as I wanted but I could not leave without some crocosmia, agapanthus and sanguisorbas and a rather fine bronze coloured echeveria that leaped into the cart before I could stop it. Best of all, before buying the agapanthus I was able to ask Brian the owner for advice on why my previous ones had died. He explained they like to be front of border and do not like to be crowded but were otherwise generally easy to please. Whilst obviously I enjoy buying plants from nurseries, but is invaluable from these visits is the ability to ask an expert for their advice.I had not been having a great week just before the visit (just general meh sort of week) but I realised as I wandered around the garden that when life gives you lemons.......trade them for lilac squirrels.
How can you not love a plant called Lilac Squirrel? Which is as bonkers looking as it sounds and utterly adorable.
Forget your gray or red squirrels, go for lilac.
I predict another trip to the nursery soon, they had many asters......
